Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

Posted by Nancy N on 9/05/00 at 12:03 (027250)

Hi, everybody. I was just wondering what kinds of things you've done after the treatment to promote healing, and how long it took before you could tell a difference. Also, how did you feel immediately after the treatment?

I am asking all of this because I don't feel like I have a lot to go on as part of the OrthoWave study. I was told to continue doing stretching and massage, but nothing more specific like how long to stretch, or how much massage to do. And I have really only noticed much of a difference since taking the Celebrex they gave me, and even that has levelled out. Dr Z seems to think that I might have had the real treatment last weekend because of the pain I was in afterward, but if that is the case, how long would it be before I would really be able to tell if it's made a difference? They haven't given me any sort of information like this, and while I'm not sure if that's deliberate because of the study, I still find it rather frustrating, because I don't know what to expect one way or another. I certainly did not expect the pain last weekend, and when I did talk to the doctor, he said I was the first person to report that kind of pain.

So.... I know this may be a tall order, and is a lot of things to ask about, but I appreciate anything you can offer from your own experience. Thanks!

Re: Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

Dr. Zuckerman on 9/05/00 at 16:20 (027282)

You should be having relief at this point and time. When I do ESWT the relief is usually within days one week tops. If no relief you need a re-treatment.

Re: Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

Nancy N on 9/05/00 at 21:29 (027342)

I am still not sure that I had the real treatment, and the weekend when I was in so much pain was the second treatment. I am really hoping that I didn't get the real thing, because I don't want to think about what it means if it's the real thing and isn't working. I know this trial uses much shorter treatments than you do--about 6.5 minutes each. Would that make the difference?

Thanks for your input.

Re: Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

john h on 9/07/00 at 10:37 (027468)

Nancy: i had the orbasone treatment 2 weeks ago. about 3 days after treatment the soreness from the treatment subsided and my pf has improved about 50%. a few days ago i walked the mall for a couple hours, walked a mile on the track and rode a stationary bike for about 20 minutes. this bothered my feet a little the next day but not like it did before orbasone. for the past 3-4 days i have stayed at 50% improvement. i continue to wear birks and do some light stretching and take celebrex (do not think celebrex helps). i do not know what to expect as to further improvement. i asked dr z how long i should wait before considering a 2nd treatment. If i continue to improve i guess i just wait until i stabilize for a month and then decide on another treatment. If i remain at 50% improvement for another 2 weeks with no more improvement then i will schedule a 2nd treatment.

Re: Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

Nancy N on 9/07/00 at 14:59 (027491)

John, thanks for your comments. What kind of 'light stretching' do you do? The ortho I will now see for my follow-ups tells me I need to stretch for 10 min, 3-4 times a day, which seems like a lot to me. If I do that off a step, my feet tingle for a minute or two when I am finished (if I get that far and am not pulling on the sore spot while I stretch, which happens frequently). I can't imagine stretching that long against a wall, and of course it's very difficult to do any stretching at work. My office moved today and it's hard to do that or to unpack without being on your feet, and mine are really sore and tired now.

I am taking Celebrex, too, and think it helped at first, especially with the stiffness, but now that seems to be coming back, so I really don't know what to think. Of course, I also don't know if I got the real treatment or not--I was in unbelievable pain after the second one, but felt absolutely nothing and no difference after the first, so who knows. I am hoping that it's not the real treatment, because otherwise, I don't think it is working.

Re: Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

Dr. Zuckerman on 9/05/00 at 16:20 (027282)

You should be having relief at this point and time. When I do ESWT the relief is usually within days one week tops. If no relief you need a re-treatment.

Re: Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

Nancy N on 9/05/00 at 21:29 (027342)

I am still not sure that I had the real treatment, and the weekend when I was in so much pain was the second treatment. I am really hoping that I didn't get the real thing, because I don't want to think about what it means if it's the real thing and isn't working. I know this trial uses much shorter treatments than you do--about 6.5 minutes each. Would that make the difference?

Thanks for your input.

Re: Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

john h on 9/07/00 at 10:37 (027468)

Nancy: i had the orbasone treatment 2 weeks ago. about 3 days after treatment the soreness from the treatment subsided and my pf has improved about 50%. a few days ago i walked the mall for a couple hours, walked a mile on the track and rode a stationary bike for about 20 minutes. this bothered my feet a little the next day but not like it did before orbasone. for the past 3-4 days i have stayed at 50% improvement. i continue to wear birks and do some light stretching and take celebrex (do not think celebrex helps). i do not know what to expect as to further improvement. i asked dr z how long i should wait before considering a 2nd treatment. If i continue to improve i guess i just wait until i stabilize for a month and then decide on another treatment. If i remain at 50% improvement for another 2 weeks with no more improvement then i will schedule a 2nd treatment.

Re: Post-ESWT therapy/treatments

Nancy N on 9/07/00 at 14:59 (027491)

John, thanks for your comments. What kind of 'light stretching' do you do? The ortho I will now see for my follow-ups tells me I need to stretch for 10 min, 3-4 times a day, which seems like a lot to me. If I do that off a step, my feet tingle for a minute or two when I am finished (if I get that far and am not pulling on the sore spot while I stretch, which happens frequently). I can't imagine stretching that long against a wall, and of course it's very difficult to do any stretching at work. My office moved today and it's hard to do that or to unpack without being on your feet, and mine are really sore and tired now.

I am taking Celebrex, too, and think it helped at first, especially with the stiffness, but now that seems to be coming back, so I really don't know what to think. Of course, I also don't know if I got the real treatment or not--I was in unbelievable pain after the second one, but felt absolutely nothing and no difference after the first, so who knows. I am hoping that it's not the real treatment, because otherwise, I don't think it is working.